This application is related generally to stored-value cards. More specifically, this application is related to methods and systems for activating and otherwise coordinating a change in status of stored-value cards.
In recent years, stored-value cards have become increasingly popular among consumers. The increasing demand for such cards, in the form of prepaid gift cards and other types of stored-value cards, has resulted in a number of merchants wishing to offer stored-value cards for sale. Unfortunately, many such merchants are ill-equipped to offer the sale of stored-value cards to their customers in an efficient manner because of the nature of the financial infrastructure that they use.
For example, many merchants currently use cash-register machines that are equipped for storing money, performing arithmetic operations related to sales, and the like, but are not equipped for communication with external authorities. Such communication is generally needed for certain types of transactions, such as credit-card or debit-card based transactions, and is also used in order to activate stored value cards, which otherwise usually remain inactive until they are purchased. Accordingly, such merchants often have a separate communications device that is equipped to perform communication with external authorities. This arrangement works satisfactorily when communication need only be made with a single authority, such as for obtaining approval for a credit-card transaction, but does not work well when multiple authorities need to be contacted. In particular, when a stored-value card is purchased with a credit- or debit-card transaction, both authorization for the transaction and activation of the card require communications.
Thus, in such a transaction where a customer wishes to purchase a stored-value card, a clerk may take a credit or debit card from customer and swipe it through the communications device, entering the amount of the transaction. The communications device dials a payment authority for approval and, when approval is received, a receipt is printed and presented to the customer for signature. The clerk puts a copy of the receipt in the cash register. Subsequently, the clerk takes the inactive stored-value card and swipes it through the communications device, entering the amount to be activated on the card. The communications device dials an authority that activates the card and returns a code indicating that it has been activated. The activated card is then returned to the customer.
As is evident, this procedure requires significant handling of documents and cards by the clerk, and also requires multiple separate interactions with the communications device. Not only does the overall complexity of the procedure make the possibility of errors by clerks relatively high, the procedure also leaves open significant possibility for fraudulent activity, such as where the amount entered for the credit-card approval is deliberately different from the amount of value stored on the card.
There is accordingly a need in the art for methods and systems for simplifying procedures for activating stored-value cards and otherwise effecting a change in their status that do not require major upgrades in equipment by merchants.